Siena’s Magee ends playing career

Cory Magee, the Siena forward who missed all of the 2008-09 season with head injuries, will end his college-basketball career, the school announced Tuesday. Magee plans to remain in school and a part of the program as a student assistant coach.

“Although I’m obviously disappointed that my Siena playing career is over, I’m extremely happy to be given the opportunity by the College to serve as student assistant coach,” Magee said in a statement. “I’m not sure if coaching is in my future, but it will be a great learning experience and I am looking forward to a fresh start. The toughest part with last year was that I did not know what the future would hold. Now I have a clear understanding of what my role will be.”

The NCAA has cleared Magee, a senior this school year, as a “medical exception,” which means he gets to keep his scholarship but it does not count against Siena’s maximum. In effect, it gives Siena another scholarship to offer for this school year.

Magee, a 6-foot-7 forward, had suffered the injury during a preseason practice in November of 2008 and endured a wide range of symptoms since, including poor balance, headaches and disturbed sleep. He’d worked out as much as doctors would allow, holding out hopes of a comeback this coming season.

Though Magee averaged only 1.3 points and 2.8 rebounds during his two active seasons, his departure leaves Siena thinner at forward. Behind starting center and power forward Ryan Rossiter and Alex Franklin, the Saints have only freshman O.D. Anosike and seldom-used junior Steven Priestley. Wings Edwin Ubiles and Owen Wignot could see more time at power forward than in the past.

Brandon Walters, a 6-9, transfer from Seton Hall, must red-shirt this season under NCAA transfer rules.

I would not have much respect for a Catholic college that would try to take away a kid’s scholarship because he was injured and cannot play (see #4). This is a good example of why it is so important to get a degree while on athletic scholarship – the vast majority of kids will not play pro sports. Best of luck to Cory.

This is a bittersweet announcement, and I want to wish Corey all the best in his senior year. Indeed it puts a “period” on the end of anotherwise uncertain sentence. I watched him all last year on the bench, and despite his limitation physically, and even in the one game he played in for a brief few moments, he was always there to cheer on and support his teammates and was a great ambassador for not letting adversity get you down. I am delighted that Siena has given him the special opportunity to serve as an assistanct coach and that he’ll be able to retain his scholarship. Perhaps this has been one of the best parts of his Siena education all these years! He’s a man of great character and Siena should be very proud of his perserverance and dedication to the entire work of the team! Go Saints!!

Div I schools are entitled to yank athletic scholarships if you can’t play (or get cut, etc.), and many (most, the last time I saw stats) do. You would like to expect more of Siena, and they delivered. Nicely done.

Best wishes to Cory as he continues the pursuit of his degree. Pete – Cory did a great job blogging during the Italy trip; he showed a good sense of humor and his writing/story telling was solid. Maybe he ought to be looking at a career in your arena…

The well known cliche “sports builds character” is seldom demonstrated these days.

This episode is the exception.

For a young man to say goodbye to the arena in which he has excelled and into which he has poured so much energy is sad to watch. But Cory has made the difficult choice and Siena has demonstrated its own institutional character by supporting him in every way possible.

The next step is for Cory to identify the other areas in life where he can continue to pursue excellence. He may well have done that already, of course. I don’t know him. But I do know what it’s like to have the light switched off at 21 years old without quite knowing how to switch it back on again. The best coaches and sports programs attempt to prepare kids for the transition, but it’s a tough task.

Most of life is not as black and white as sports–the scoreboard and the stats do not so clearly delineate the broad gray areas that make up most of your experiences in life. So, Cory, use your intelligence, energy, and character well as you go toward the next spotlight.